The next day, while at the Moldova Security Forum in Chișinău, a Polish government official expressed his deep concern about sharing intelligence with the current U.S. administration. While he had great respect for the embassy in Warsaw, he noted a lack of trust in some leaders in Washington and his worry that intelligence would get leaked, in the worst case to Russia — as had…

Denmark, which holds the presidency of the Council of the EU, has vowed to hold the vote in time for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to fly to Brazil on Dec. 20 to sign the deal. Several countries warn that the holdup risks ultimately killing the trade deal, concerned that further stalling it could embolden opposition in the European Parliament or complicate next steps when Paraguay, which is skeptical toward the agreement, takes over the presidency of the Mercosur bloc from current holder Brazil.

Women are a key segment of his party’s voter base: Female voters tend to participate in elections to a greater extent than men, and have historically mobilized in favor of the Socialists. But surveys by the country’s national polling institute reveal that women are becoming increasingly disenchanted with the party. In a poll carried out shortly after the Ábalos recordings were released, support for the Socialists among female voters…

Two U.S. Army soldiers and one U.S. civilian interpreter were killed while three service members were left wounded in an ambush attack on Saturday in Palmyra, Syria, U.S. officials confirmed. Sean Parnell, the Pentagon spokesperson, confirmed the news on X on Saturday, saying the two soldiers “were conducting a key leader engagement” and that their mission in the city was “in support of on-going counter-ISIS / counter-terrorism operations in the region.

The attack occurred as hundreds of members of Sydney’s Jewish community gathered in Bondi Beach for the annual Hanukkah celebration, among the biggest events of the local Jewish calendar. The event, attended by many families, features the lighting of the menorah, a petting zoo, a children’s climbing wall and other activities. “This attack was designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community, on the first day of Hanukkah,” said Chris Minns, the premier of the state of New South Wales.

President Donald Trump promised that a wave of emergency tariffs on nearly every nation would restore “fair” trade and jump-start the economy. Eight months later, half of U.S. imports are avoiding those tariffs. “To all of the foreign presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens, ambassadors, and everyone else who will soon be calling to ask for exemptions from these tariffs,” Trump said in April when he rolled out global tariffs based on the United States’ trade deficits with other countries, “I say, terminate your own tariffs, drop your barriers, don’t manipulate your currencies.”

“The summit in Berlin is important: we are meeting with both the Americans and the Europeans,” Zelenskyy told journalists in a WhatsApp group chat on Sunday, according to a transcript of his remarks. “It is important for us. And believe me, we have done a lot to ensure that these parties all meet together.” Zelenskyy emphasized the need for Ukraine to receive firm guarantees from the United States and European allies that would be similar to those offered to NATO members, according to the transcript of the group chat.

Ukraine is willing to drop demands for NATO accession should the U.S. and Europe offer sufficient security guarantees in ongoing talks on a proposed peace deal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was reported to say on Sunday. “We are talking about bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the United States — namely, Article 5-like guarantees ... as well as security guarantees for us from our European partners and from other countries such as Canada, Japan and others,” Zelenskyy told journalists in a group chat, according to a report by the…

German, British and French officials are set to meet in Berlin this weekend to discuss proposals to end the war in Ukraine. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is also expected to meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The talks are in preparation for a planned summit of leaders including Merz, Britain’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Zelenskyy on Monday over stopping Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

A German official told Reuters on Saturday that Germany will host U.S. and Ukrainian delegations over the weekend for peace talks, ahead of a summit of European leaders and Zelenskyy in Berlin on Monday. In addition to Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also is travelling to Germany for talks involving Ukrainians and Europeans, Reuters reported. German press agency DPA, citing German government officials, said a Sunday meeting of top-level advisers is scheduled in Berlin.

Germany is sending soldiers to strengthen Poland's eastern border with Belarus and Russia, multiple media reported on Saturday. Several dozen German soldiers will join Poland's East Shield from April 2026, with the mission initially running until the end of 2027, Deutsche Welle reported, citing Berlin’s defense ministry. German troops will focus on engineering work, according to a ministry spokesperson quoted in the report.

"The United States is lifting sanctions on potash," Coale told journalists. "I think this is a very good step by the U.S. toward Belarus. We are lifting them now," he said. "As relations between the two countries normalize, more and more sanctions will be lifted," Coale added. "The latest release of 123 individuals, including one U.S. citizen, six citizens of U.S.

A preservationist group is suing President Donald Trump for his construction of the East Wing ballroom, arguing in a lawsuit filed Friday that the wing’s demolition did not undergo appropriate reviews and demanding the rebuilding cease immediately. The National Trust for Historic Preservation — a nonprofit chartered by Congress to support the preservation of historic U.S. buildings and neighborhoods — is asking the U.S.

It is still unclear whether Donald Trump will succeed in ending the war in Gaza two years after Oct. 7, 2023. What is clear, however, is that when it really mattered, Europe and large parts of the free world failed. Oct 11 8 mins read Source link

SAN FRANCISCO — California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Friday that he and 19 other states are suing the Trump administration over its policy to hike fees on new H-1B visa petitions to $100,000. Bonta claimed that the increases for the skilled-worker visa are illegal because they exceed what Congress has authorized and undermine its intent in establishing the program. All of the states joining the lawsuit have Democratic attorneys general.

The Trump Effect: How One Man’s Politics Rewired Europe From defense to trade to climate policy, Trump’s second term has shaken Europe’s foundations and forced leaders across the continent to adapt to a new transatlantic reality. By POLITICO Illustration by Jiyeun Kang for POLITICO Even with an ocean apart, there isn’t an industry in Europe that hasn’t been impacted by President Donald Trump’s actions.

In contrast, Weidt said the U.K. has failed to move beyond small grants, arguing it needs to become a better customer of its “sovereign” companies or risk ceding “the great quantum computing foundations the U.K. has built over decades ... to foreign players.”  “We need to see now more ambition, and we need to see more pace,” Gerald Mullally, CEO of Oxford Quantum Circuits, said, stressing that the U.K.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the sanctions sent a message that atrocities “cannot and will not go unpunished.” While the U.K. has targeted other RSF figures before, the paramilitary group’s recent sharing of footage of their own alleged crimes has made it easier to establish the basis for sanctions. The penalties announced Friday coincide with a fresh £21 million aid package intended to provide food, clean water, healthcare and protection for tens of thousands caught in what the U.K.

"Our proposal is legally robust and fully in line with the EU and public international law," he said. Belgium has opposed the use of sovereign Russian assets over concerns that the country may eventually be required to pay the money back to Moscow on its own. Some €185 billion in frozen Russian assets are under the stewardship of Euroclear, the Brussels-based financial depository, while another €25 billion is scattered across the EU in private bank accounts.

Photos from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein tie the late, convicted sex offender to President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, tech billionaire Bill Gates and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. These men and others are featured in the roughly 95,000 photos the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has received from the Epstein estate as part of its ongoing investigation.

While Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has always supported sanctions against Russia, the government coalition she leads is divided over supporting Ukraine. Hard-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has embraced a Russia-friendly stance and endorsed U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Ukraine. Emergency rule Offering a further criticism, the four countries expressed skepticism toward the Commission seizing on emergency powers to overhaul the current sanctions rules and keep Russia’s assets frozen in the long-term.

The billionaire Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, has become the world’s leading global health philanthropist, but his overture to the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to haunt him, most recently with the release of photos Friday featuring him in the American financier’s entourage. Gates appears in two images Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released, the first batch…

The flood of untaxed and often unsafe goods prompted the European Commission to propose a temporary solution for the packages under €150 a month ago. This "de minimis" rule allows exporters like Shein and Temu to send products directly to consumers, often bypassing scrutiny. The EU has already received more packages in the first nine months of 2025 than in the entire previous year, when the counter hit 4.6 billion.

Some football seasons drift along in a familiar rhythm until one signing cuts through the fog. Winter windows do not always deliver fireworks, yet when they do, they can shift the tone of a campaign. Clubs gamble, players relocate under pressure and supporters cling to the hope that a newcomer might solve issues that have lingered since August. The stories below show how a single arrival can reroute an entire year.

“Every country takes very seriously the way that it protects its borders and makes sure that it has a grip on people who come into the country that are aligned with its own values and principles,” Kyle said when asked if he was worried about the plans. “I’m not in a business of criticizing other countries in the way that they do it, because we are certainly taking it very seriously for our own country.”